


Murphy's Law

by very_important_army



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-14 06:44:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20596436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/very_important_army/pseuds/very_important_army
Summary: Yanjun just wanted one perfect date with Zhangjing. That's all he asked for.Unfortunately, it seems like fate has other plans.





	Murphy's Law

Yanjun wants to cry. This is quite possibly, incredibly likely, without a doubt, the worst day of his life. 

Zhangjing says he’s just being dramatic. Yanjun pouts.

It was supposed to be a great day, Yanjun laments. Maybe there’s some truth to Murphy’s Law, after all.

_ “Er, Zhangjing,” Yanjun stammers. He looks back at Chaoze, who is mouthing something along the lines of “ASK HIM OUT, YOU COWARD!”  _

_ “Hmm?” Zhangjing doesn’t look up from where he’s very adorably concentrating on the piano keys, fiddling with the chords before turning to scribble on his notebook.  _

_ “Do you, uh, maybe wanna go…?”  _

_ Zhangjing finally looks up. “What, you wanna fight?” He jokes, lifting his hands up in little tiny fists and jabbing at the air. Yanjun nearly melts from his cuteness.  _

_ “On a date with me?” He splutters out the rest of the question, his heart racing. He wills himself not to faint.  _

_ “Oh,” Zhangjing says simply, returning to his piano. “Ooh, that sounds good,” he mutters to himself, making a note on his notebook. “Yeah, pick me up at six?” _

_ “Oh,” Yanjun echoes, feeling faint. “Yeah, sounds great.”  _

  


At 5:45 pm, Yanjun had put his keys in the engine and turned. 

Nothing.

Yanjun had tried again. “Fuck,” Yanjun had then groaned with a sinking realization, “I left the headlights on.” The car’s battery was completely drained. 

Well then, he had fifteen minutes to run to Zhangjing’s house. 

Yanjun had arrived at Zhangjing’s house panting and sweating, probably looking like a mess. He pulled at his shirt, trying to air off his sticky body and straighten out his clothes, and Zhangjing, the little angel that he is, just giggled and suggested that they use his car. 

“You know,” Zhangjing had said conversationally, with a playful twinkle in his eye, “when I told you to pick me up, I didn’t expect to be the one driving you around.” Yanjun whined in response, slumping down in the passenger seat and covering his face, trying to ignore the sounds of Zhangjing cackling at his red ears.

Scratch what he said before, Zhangjing is no angel.

  


At 6:12 pm, Yanjun’s chosen restaurant came into view. It’s a little local place, with cheap, flavorful food. Despite its modest appearance, Yanjun has always liked the welcoming atmosphere of the place. 

“You have to try their wonton noodle soup,” Yanjun had insisted. “The little auntie handmakes them every morning, they’re so good.”

Zhangjing nearly moaned. “I am literally salivating, Lin Yanjun, stop talking.” 

“And the scallion pancake is to die for, it’s so flaky—”

“Wait,” Zhangjing interrupted, brows furrowed in confusion. “Is it closed?”

The lights in the little restaurant were off, and a small sheet of paper was pasted on the front door. Zhangjing pulled into the parking lot, and as soon as he shifted into park, Yanjun was out the door. 

_ Auntie is gone for vacation with her son! Restaurant will be closed all week.  _

Yanjun wailed. 

“It’s okay, Yanjun, we can just go to Haidilao!” Zhangjing patted Yanjun on the back. “It’s right there,  _ and  _ it’s my favorite place in the entire world.”

“Erm…” Yanjun fidgeted. How was he supposed to explain to Zhangjing that he never goes to Haidilao because it’s just a  _ liiitle  _ out of his broke college student budget? But Zhangjing’s eyes were glazed over, and he looked like he’s salivating. How could he have said no? “Yeah, okay, if you want to!” He’ll just live off instant ramen and Chaoze’s mercy for the next week. 

Zhangjing’s little hand closed around Yanjun’s wrist, and he let himself be pulled into the hot pot restaurant. 

  


At 6:29 pm, they slipped into their booth. 

“So, what do you want?” Zhangjing asked, opening the menu. 

Yanjun hummed noncommittally, a little overwhelmed by all the options. “Um, you can just order whatever you want?” 

Zhangjing’s eyes sparkled as he beamed at him; this was clearly the right thing to say. “Really? Thanks, Yanjun!”

Yanjun grinned dopily. “Of course.” 

When the waiter came over, however, Yanjun dropped his water in shock. The glass cup made a loud  _ clack _ as it fell against the table, luckily not breaking, and water flew everywhere, including all over Yanjun’s lap. Yanjun leapt up, swearing and willing his ears not to get red. 

The waiter handed him a wad of napkins with a chuckle, and Yanjun couldn’t help but grimace. “Thanks, Jeff.” 

Zhangjing blinked. “You know each other?”

“Yeah, I used to date Yanjun!” Jeffrey replied cheerily. Yanjun winced, wishing he could just staple the other boy’s mouth shut. “But Yanjun, you never wanted to come here before.”

Zhangjing’s eyes were big and worried. Yanjun tripped over his words to explain. “Well, it’s always good to try new things, right?” 

Zhangjing looked unconvinced. Yanjun reached over the table, internally screeching, and takes ahold of Zhangjing’s soft hand. “Really, Zhangjing, I want to be here.” 

“I knew it,” Jeffrey muses. “I always thought you had a thing for Zhangjing, even when you were dating me.” 

“Jeff!” Yanjun’s face was aflame, but at the sound of Zhangjing’s giggle, Yanjun couldn’t help but smile. Yanjun looked up to see Jeffrey’s pleased smirk, happy to have embarrassed Yanjun.

Yanjun couldn’t believe he ever thought the other boy was  _ sweet.  _

“Why don’t you order, Zhangjing? I think  _ someone—”  _ Yanjun glared at the waiter. “—needs to get back to work.” Zhangjing rattled off an impressive list of items, and Yanjun’s stomach turned a little at the thought of the blow to his poor wallet. 

Sure enough, Jeffrey came back with a mountain of plates, all filled with different types of meat. Zhangjing picked up the first plate (“Lamb,” Zhangjing told him with a lick of his lips) and dumped the entire plate into the boiling pot. 

“I’m so excited,” Zhangjing smiled, twisting a little in his seat. He leaned forward to pick out a piece of cooked meat, and dipped it into his sauce concoction. “Say ahh~” he cooed at Yanjun, lips twisted into a grin. 

“I can feed myself,” Yanjun spluttered. He felt his ears getting red for the nth time already, and it didn’t help when Zhangjing pouted. “But you have to try my sauce, it’s the best thing I’ve made in my life.” 

Obediently, Yanjun closed his lips around Zhangjing’s chopsticks—and nearly choked. “Ohmygod, it’s so hot!” He breathed through his mouth rapidly, trying to cool the meat and will down the water in his eyes. 

Zhangjing was cackling at him so hard that he had to put his chopsticks down. “Sorry,” he managed to choke out, eyes alight in amusement. “I guess I should’ve warned you.” 

Yanjun spluttered out a strained, “it’s okay,” mentally lamenting. How many times will he embarrass himself today?

  


At 7:42, Yanjun had asked for the bill. Zhangjing reached out to take the black booklet from Jeffrey and opened it up.

“How much is it?” Yanjun asked. 

Zhangjing shook his head, jutting out his lower lip. “No, it’s my treat.”

“What? No, I asked you out.”

“And I brought you here,” Zhangjing pointed out. 

“B-but—wait, no, Jeffrey, don’t take that!”

Quick as a flash, Zhangjing had shoved his credit card into the booklet and handed it to Jeffrey, who whisked it away. 

Yanjun gaped at Jeffrey’s retreating back. “So now he works fast,” he grumbled. Zhangjing patted Yanjun’s hand. Yanjun glared at him. “I’m paying for ice cream,” he commanded. 

Zhangjing’s giggles sounded like twinkling bells, and he acquiesced with a squeeze to Yanjun’s hand. 

  


At 8:09, Yanjun had taken his first lick of his strawberry ice cream. He couldn’t hear what Zhangjing had ordered, running to the cashier to quickly pay for both their cones, but the shorter boy comes out with a creamy white scoop. 

“Is that vanilla?” Yanjun asked.

“Try it,” Zhangjing offered. 

In hindsight, maybe Yanjun should’ve figured that something was up. When has Zhangjing ever willingly parted with his food?

Yanjun gagged and hurried to rinse his mouth of that repugnant taste with a few licks of strawberry ice cream. Behind him, Zhangjing was laughing uproariously, to the extent of wiping away the tears welling his eyes. 

“Who in their right mind gets durian ice cream?” Yanjun squawked. 

"Excuse you," Zhangjing said, mock offended. "Durian ice cream is a delicacy." 

Yanjun gagged. 

But despite the disgusting taste in his mouth, Yanjun couldn't help but smile at the sight of the older boy laughing, lips pulled into a toothy smile. He stared at Zhangjing dopily, unconsciously letting his hand fall by his side as he brings his empty hand up to cup his chin. 

"Yanjun!" Yanjun was broken out of his reverie by Zhangjing's loud shriek. "Your ice cream!"

Yanjun cursed loudly, pulling at his now ice-cream-soaked shirt. "Nooo, I liked this shirt!" A pink splotch had made an appearance on his upper stomach, staining the white shirt.

_ Great. Covered in sweat  _ and _ ice cream.  _

But Zhangjing pulled out a wad of napkins from the dispenser, and Yanjun could only watch with a lump in his throat and heart racing in his chest as the small pale hand reached over and started dabbing at the stain, pressing right against his abdomen. 

"Zhangjing," Yanjun spluttered. He could just feel the blood rushing up to his face. "I-i can do it myself, thanks."

"Oh, it's okay, I don't mind." Zhangjing blinked a little too innocently for Yanjun to believe that there was no ulterior motives. Yanjun just gulped, splaying back against the chair a little as Zhangjing continues to rub at his shirt and willing his body not to react. 

"Woah!" called a loud, annoyingly familiar voice. "Yanjun, when I told you to ask him out, I meant a very cute, PG date!" 

Yanjun could never decide if he should be grateful for Chaoze's presence or if he should curse the other man. 

Either way, the moment was broken. Yanjun sighed, straightening up and cleaning up the melted mess of ice cream on his hand. Zhangjing, somehow, had managed to keep his durian ice cream in pristine condition, and he continued to lap at it with kittenish licks. Yanjun forced himself to tear his eyes away. 

"Let's go take a walk in the park," Yanjun suggested.  _ If he stays within my line of sight, I'm really gonna lose it.  _

  


At 8:32, Yanjun and Zhangjing walked into the public gardens. The sun had begun to settle in the sky, scattering pinks and oranges across the horizon. 

"It's such a nice day," Yanjun sighed happily, content with the feeling of Zhangjing's small hand in his own, despite the mishaps from earlier that day. 

"Is it?" Zhangjing winced. "I think it's about to rain." 

Yanjun stared at him in astonishment. "But the sky's so nice and clear."

"Um, you might want to take a look behind you."

While one direction presented them with beautiful hues of sunset, the other revealed gray storm clouds rolling in. 

"Fuck," Yanjun complained. "I didn't bring an umbrella." 

Zhangjing grinned, ever the optimist. "How fast can you run? We left the car near the restaurant."

Yanjun whined as Zhangjing pulled him forward by the hand, sprinting in the direction they came from. Zhangjing's bright laughter carried in the wind, giving Yanjun the energy to move his legs. 

"Slow," Yanjun teased as soon as he overtook the shorter boy, now the one leading the sprint. 

"Stupid tall people," Zhangjing gritted out, pursing his lips in concentration. 

_ Cute _ , Yanjun wanted to coo, stumbling over his feet in the process. In his defense, Zhangjing's concentrated face is very distracting. 

"Hah! Who's slow now?" Zhangjing crowed in delight as he surpassed Yanjun. 

Yanjun couldn't really answer, legs starting to burn. "How far away are we?" he wheezed. "I hope we're close—ah, shit!"

Droplets splattered onto Yanjun's face, interrupting him.

"Oh my god!" Zhangjing squealed at the sudden downpour of rain. "That happened so quickly!"

"I can't see!" Yanjun wailed, panting and tugging on Zhangjing's hand to slow him down. He squinted, trying to keep his eyes open in the pouring rain. 

"The car's right there." Zhangjing somehow still managed to laugh. The vehicle beeped as it unlocked, and they pulled the doors open, quickly clambering inside.

Yanjun grimaced. "I'm getting water all over the seats." 

Zhangjing shook his head quickly, water droplets spraying all over the dashboard and Yanjun himself. "Me too! Don't worry, my car needed a nice deep clean anyway." He patted Yanjun's hand nicely. 

Yanjun appreciated the attempt to make him feel better, but it didn’t really work. 

  


It's now 8:53. Yanjun is pouting, and embarrassingly, his lips are trembling as he tries to hold back tears.

"This is the worst day of my life," Yanjun whines. He slides down in his seat like a petulant child. 

Zhangjing laughs, reaching over to hold onto his hand. "Don't be dramatic."

"But Zhangjing," Yanjun mewls, "I ruined our date. Our  _ first _ date." He thinks of everything that's gone wrong— from his car not starting, all the way down to the downpour of rain. 

"I don't think it was ruined at all." Yanjun looks up at Zhangjing, who has a tiny smile playing across his lips. 

"But I had so much planned..."

Zhangjing reaches over the cupholders to wrap Yanjun up in a hug. Yanjun leans into, pressing his face against the neck, and ignores the awkward twist of his body and the dampness of his clothes sticking to his skin. It's nice here, and Zhangjing's neck smells good, his arms comforting. 

"Didn't you have fun with me though?" 

"I did!" Yanjun hurries to reassure him. "I love spending time with you!"

"Me too, Yanjun." Zhangjing pulls back and smiles at him. 

"I just wish I got to take you to that restaurant," Yanjun sighs, regretful. 

"Well, that just means we have to come back for our next date, right?" 

Next date.

Yanjun splutters for a bit, flailing around in his seat. "Yes!" He shouts a little too eagerly.

"Good." And here Zhangjing reaches out, pulls Yanjun close, and presses a chaste kiss against Yanjun's lips. 

Yanjun melts against his hands. 

"Any date is perfect as long as you're by my side."

  


Exactly one week later, at 5:45 pm, Yanjun puts his keys in the engine and turns. The motor purrs, and Yanjun makes his way to Zhangjing's house. 

At 5:57, Yanjun pulls into Zhangjing's driveway, and the older boy slides into the passenger seat with a smile and a kiss to Yanjun's cheek. 

At 6:02, Yanjun carefully parks in front of the little restaurant. It's bustling with people today, and they can barely find a table. Yanjun slips into a little corner that's often overlooked, squished so close to Zhangjing that their knees brush against each other. The auntie that runs the stall notices Yanjun, and comes over with a bright smile and a notepad. 

"Mrs. Zhou!" Yanjun greets. "This is Zhangjing."

"What a handsome boy," smiles the middle-aged woman. "What would you like to eat?

"Wonton noodle soup, please!" Zhangjing chirps. "I've heard good things." 

Yanjun can't help but smile. Mrs. Zhou beams. "Our Yanjun here loves my wontons! I'll be right out with them, dears." 

Yanjun grins foolishly at Zhangjing and reaches over to hold his hand. 

"Yanjun, watch out!"

  


_ Fuck _ , Yanjun thinks, with a lapful of water,  _ why can’t he ever do anything right? _


End file.
